Creating Places
by Randy
Ellefson
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GENRE: Non-fiction
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BLURB:
Creating a unique, immersive setting one place at a time.
CREATING PLACES (THE ART OF WORLD BUILDING, #2) is a detailed how-to guide on inventing the heart of every imaginary world - places. It includes chapters on inventing planets, moons, continents, mountains, forests, deserts, bodies of water, sovereign powers, settlements, and interesting locales. Extensive, culled research on each is provided to inform your world building decisions and understand the impact on craft, story, and audience. You’ll also learn how and when to create history and maps. Experts and beginners alike will benefit from the free templates that make building worlds easier, quicker, and more fun.
Learn the difference between types of monarchies, democracies, dictatorships and more for realistic variety and believable conflict. Understand how latitude, prevailing winds, and mountains affect climate, rainfall, and what types of forests and deserts will exist in each location. Consistently calculate how long it takes to travel by horse, wagon, sailing vessels, or even dragon over different terrain types and conditions.
CREATING PLACES is the second volume in THE ART OF WORLD BUILDING, the only multi-volume series of its kind. Three times the length, depth, and breadth of other guides, the series can help fantasy and science fiction creators determine how much to build and why, how to use world building in your work, and whether the effort to create places will reap rewards for you and your audience.
CREATING PLACES (THE ART OF WORLD BUILDING, #2) is a detailed how-to guide on inventing the heart of every imaginary world - places. It includes chapters on inventing planets, moons, continents, mountains, forests, deserts, bodies of water, sovereign powers, settlements, and interesting locales. Extensive, culled research on each is provided to inform your world building decisions and understand the impact on craft, story, and audience. You’ll also learn how and when to create history and maps. Experts and beginners alike will benefit from the free templates that make building worlds easier, quicker, and more fun.
Learn the difference between types of monarchies, democracies, dictatorships and more for realistic variety and believable conflict. Understand how latitude, prevailing winds, and mountains affect climate, rainfall, and what types of forests and deserts will exist in each location. Consistently calculate how long it takes to travel by horse, wagon, sailing vessels, or even dragon over different terrain types and conditions.
CREATING PLACES is the second volume in THE ART OF WORLD BUILDING, the only multi-volume series of its kind. Three times the length, depth, and breadth of other guides, the series can help fantasy and science fiction creators determine how much to build and why, how to use world building in your work, and whether the effort to create places will reap rewards for you and your audience.
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EXCERPT
Our invented planet is
unlikely to be the only one orbiting its sun. This section discusses others
within a solar system.
In SF, interstellar travel
is virtually a given, whether that’s within a solar system or between systems
and galaxies. In fantasy, other planets are seldom mentioned unless there’s an
event of some significance like a conjunction of moons, stars, the sun, and
planets. This might be an oversight, for magic or other supernatural means
could allow characters to move between worlds (and moons). If a magic portal
can get people from one place to another, the difference between traversing two
sides of a planet and between two planets with magic might be negligible for
all we know. It could take tremendous power from a wizard or we can decide the
ability has become commonplace. Perhaps magical doorways have been created, the
magic imbued within them so that ordinary people can use them, just like a
technology. We could similarly have magic-powered spacecraft.
When inventing other planets
in a system, we should have rocky planets like Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars
closer to the sun, and gas giants farther away; temperatures are too high for
gas planets to form close to the sun. Saturn isn’t the only planet in our
system that has rings; they are just more pronounced, so don’t be afraid to do
this.
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AUTHOR Bio and
Links:
Randy Ellefson has written
fantasy fiction since his teens and is an avid world builder, having spent
three decades creating Llurien, which has its own website. He has a Bachelor’s
of Music in classical guitar but has always been more of a rocker, having
released several albums and earned endorsements from music companies. He’s a
professional software developer and runs a consulting firm in the Washington
D.C. suburbs. He loves spending time with his son and daughter when not
writing, making music, or playing golf.
The Art of World
Building Podcast http://www.artofworldbuilding.com/podcast (launching a week before the tour)
The Art of World
Building Website: http://www.ArtofWorldBuilding.com
Author Website: http://www.RandyEllefson.com
NOTE: The book series has a new
podcast where even more details are discussed. This podcast is free to listen!
Follow along here: http://www.artofworldbuilding.com/podcast
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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION
Randy Ellefson will be awarding an ultimate world builder's
package to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
Be sure to visit the other blogs on the tour:
November 13: The Reading Addict
November 14: This and That Book Blog
November 15: Edgar's Books
November 15: Rogue's Angels
November 16: The Avid Reader
November 17: Author C.A.Milson
November 20: T's Stuff
November 20: Lily Iona MacKenzie's Blog for Writers and Readers
November 21: Fabulous and Brunette
November 22: Mixed Book Bag
November 22: Welcome to My World of Dreams
November 24: Locks, Hooks and Books
November 27: Independent Authors
November 28: Readeropolis
November 29: Kit 'N Kabookle
November 29: Hope. Dreams. Life... Love
November 30: Mello and June, It's a Book Thang!
December 1: It's Raining Books
Thanks for hosting!
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